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It sounds like sci-fi: Scientists are beaming solar energy from space, subbing seaweed for plastic and brightening clouds to reflect sunlight to lower temperatures in a warming world. In this series of short talks, innovators working at the cutting edge of climate tech share recent breakthroughs in the field.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the latest reminder of the high cost of war, in lives lost and broken, ruined cities, and damaged lands, and also in the shockwaves that ripple through global energy, mineral, and food markets. Worsening climate change will be equally disruptive, with profound effects on peace and security. U.S. Armed Forces have been wrestling with what th...
A changing climate means a changing diet.
What can you learn about yourself by understanding the animal mind? A lot, it turns out. In this deep dive, three professors explain how your personality, logic, and ability to love might be informed by our animalistic natures. Friendliness in canines and primates is a major advantage in their evolution, just as it is for humans acting as tolerant citizens in a democracy....
Platforms like Twitter and Facebook set the stage for a promising digital revolution, providing tools that helped foster global friendships, let new voices be heard, and served as the ultimate democratizing force for information. But critics argue that rather than uniting and informing, social media deepens social and political divisions and erodes trust in the democratic...
Our laws and policies surrounding the protection of personal information were written for an earlier time, and they need to be completely overhauled for the Internet era. On the one hand, the collection of data — more widespread by business than by government, and impossible to stop — should be facilitated as an ultimate protection for society. On the other, standards unde...
From climate change and mental health to hate crimes and chronic school absenteeism, no challenge is too big for young people’s community-changing solutions. Hear from teams of high school students from Brooklyn and San Diego, and leave knowing that the future is in good hands.
A clean energy revolution is underway here, and across the globe. And it’s high time, considering electricity and heat are responsible for a staggering one-third of global emissions. Coal plants are shutting down, the costs of solar and wind technologies are rapidly falling, and a recent bipartisan bill looks to reestablish the United States as a leader in nuclear energy....
The fear of running out of charge still drives consumer habits around electric vehicles.
The threads that connect humans to their natural environments have frayed, and some have completely severed. In an attempt to mend those we still can, designers are forging meaningful connections with nature to make reparations. Their collaborative processes — working with nature and in teams across multiple disciplines — are optimistic, but urgent. In this session, learn...
Even if we stopped emitting carbon tomorrow, trillions of tons would remain in our atmosphere, causing climate change for generations. While natural, agricultural drawdown techniques are being deployed, high-tech carbon capture tools are getting major buzz in the environmental movement. From direct air capture to retrofitting power plants, what are the most promising solut...
It is no secret that leaders, at home and abroad, have a problem with journalists. Rants against news organizations and individuals punctuate conversations in Europe and Asia as easily as they do in the United States. How do members of the media navigate their profession in such a climate? Some of the top journalists in the country, representing National Review, CNN, MSNBC...
Barely a dozen years ago, Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues published a paper in Science about CRISPR, the pioneering gene-editing technique that thrilled the scientific community. In 2020, the discovery earned her a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. CRISPR is now a mainstream area of study, with researchers looking at its use not only to advance medicine but also to improve ani...
Technology has changed the way we think and interact with one another, and social media platforms are intentionally engineered to be addictive and manipulative. Those messages are in the documentary "The Social Dilemma," which was created by Jeff Orlowski's filmmaking company Exposure Labs. "Big social," says Orlowski, is transforming our information ecosystem. He tells Vi...
Our coffee makers, phone chargers, washing machines — our lives — are powered by the humble flip of a switch or press of a button. And it’s easy to lose sight of where the energy that powers our everyday conveniences comes from. Fossil fuels, predominantly through transportation and electricity, account for roughly 74 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions. As the principa...
Part 1. The Disruptors: Two of Silicon Valley’s most innovative founders also share a tight friendship. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has transformed how people travel, host and experience new worlds. Sam Altman’s OpenAI put artificial intelligence in the hands of everyone with the release of ChatGPT and set off a race to dominate the digital future. Part 2. Americ
Strategic Advisor for Environmental and Science Journalism, National Geographic Society